‘Dept. of the Internet’ porn parody sends up FCC net neutrality plans

A group called Protect Internet Freedom is hoping to score laughs and support against government regulations of the web with a satirical clip made in a porn movie setting. It comes amid a debate on the planned net neutrality regulations by the FCC.

The video opens with a woman waiting to get her broadband
installed by a sexy guy in a jumpsuit, tattoos and tool belt who
tells her, “I’m here to install your broadband.” However, the
service technician is quickly brushed aside by a group of
bureaucrats in business suits from the ‘Department of the
Internet’ who want to make sure her “service meets our
monitoring requirements.”

The mock officials proceed to document all the woman’s online
habits from the type of webcam she uses to how much video and
music she streams, even asking, “Does this [toaster] connect
to the internet?” They give the confused heroine a
telephone-book-size series of documents to sign, with the video
closing with the warning “KEEP THE INTERNET OPEN AND
FREE.”

The clip perhaps attempts to achieve the same acclaim as
political satirist John Oliver’s hugely popular video on net
neutrality last year, which led to a record number of people
filing comments with the FCC.

Protect Internet Freedom, the group that uploaded the video to
YouTube, argue that the Obama Administration’s plans to put the
internet under government control by classifying the internet a
public utility would take power away from the consumer, website
developers and small business owners. They say such a move would
drive up costs and slow down innovation.

The group’s statements have sparked media allegations it has ties
with the Tea Party or is run by certain Republicans, but the
person running the website has denied they are pursuing any
party’s agenda.

Republicans are also against net neutrality rules, which would
require internet service providers (ISPs) to treat all internet
traffic equally. The Republican plan wouldn’t reclassify the
internet as a utility under the law and would limit broadband
suppliers from being able to discriminate against what content
could be delivered to consumers for payment. Their plan would
make the FCC only able to regulate against discrimination in
service rather than allow it to regulate it as a utility.

On Wednesday this week, FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler, unveiled his
plans to ask the FCC to accept a proposal that would let data
delivered over broadband internet be regulated under Title II of
the Communications Act, which will regulate the internet as a
utility, and ban fast lanes.

The FCC has been working for nearly a year on new rules governing
how Internet Service Providers (ISPs) manage web traffic on their
networks. Cable service companies don’t want more regulations or
reclassification. Internet users have been pressing for broadband
service to be treated like a utility, and for web traffic to
remain on somewhat equal footing, disallowing ISPs to prioritize
certain content.